Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Directed by Derek Van Barham and performed in an upstairs assembly hall at Andersonville's Ebenezer Lutheran Church, this scrappy, gender-bending musical (with songs by Cerda and composer Scott Lamberty) has the handmade, good-natured feel of a church-school holiday pageant. The flying special effects by puppeteer Lolly Extract and the Jabberwocky Marionettes are especially fun."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Being on a much bigger stage then before, his Director Derek Van Barham brought new life into this already great show. To be honest, I don't remember so many musical performances like this before, but everyone was great. And of course, the star of this show is David Cerda playing Joan Crawford, and let's be honest, nobody does Joan like David does. In this production it's 1953 and Joan is desperate to reignite her dwindling career with a new film, " Oh, Mary " a big Hollywood musical adaptation of the life of the Virgin Mary, ( This is where my Catholic guilt comes in ), but the stress of this show has turned her into a tyrant or we should say an Ebenezer Scrooge"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...But the real star of this wildly funny parody, and the reason to see this campy holiday show, is the always amazing David Cerda. His clever holiday script is filled with double entendres, uncensored humor, sassy musical numbers and, of course, Mr. Cerda's spot-on performance as Joan Crawford. She is the centerpiece of this story and no one can play Mommy Dearest like David Cerda. For LGBTQ+ audiences, and their liberal-minded friends, this irreverent holiday comedy is sure to become another popular Chicago tradition. With its bizarre characters, this clever parody of "A Christmas Carol," that features dozens of sparkling, colorful costumes and a few old-fashioned, full-company production numbers, Hell in a Handbag Productions has another winner on its hands."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...'Christmas Dearest' is wicked good fun, a hilarious if unholy marriage between Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' and Mommie Dearest, the scathing tell-all book by moviestar Joan Crawford's abused daughter, Christina."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Under the direction of Derek Van Barham, the cast comprehensively weaves these two classic tales (make that "classic and a half?") together. Some of the biggest laughs come from direct references to A Christmas Carol and Mommie Dearest, but with a Hell-ish twist. Cerda uses his intimate familiarity with the material to playfully poke fun at this cross section; like when he refers to Carol-Anne's Teeny Tina (a play on Bob Cratchet's Tiny Tim) as "Taco Tuesday," for example, or when he breaks the fourth wall to say "as if this isn't all true," winking at Christina Crawford's infamous memoir about her mommie dearest."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Christmas Dearest checks all the boxes for both a holiday show and a parody. Avid Hell in a Handbag fans, like this writer, might agree that this comedy lacks some of the company's usual energetic spark. That said-- if you're looking for a very specific parody show and especially for those who will get all the insider references to Joan Crawford, Christmas Dearest would be a good fit for you."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...The show is a treat for eagle-eyed fans of both Crawford and Dickens, weaving in easter eggs and winking references to Crawford's life and works. But it is at its best when it sets aside the parody and allows the woman at the heart of it all to ponder the price of female ambition. "Are we monsters?" Joan asks Bette Davis late in the show, and it's clear that the question is meant to interrogate the choices and sacrifices required of successful women. The conversation observes how the famous rivals were always "working together by tearing [one another] apart," and at points one wishes the show would explore that sentiment-as resonant today as then-rather than another coat hanger gag."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...If you've been needing a little Christmas, and you've gotten to the point where you need it this very minute, you're in luck, because Hell In A Handbag just happens to have an entire creche of it somehow shoved into David Cerda's clutch purse and they're not afraid to whip it out."
